The Somoza Years
The long era of Somocismo , or Somoza-family rule, began in 1934. In his role as head of the country's National Guard, General Anastasio "Tacho" Somoza Garcia ordered the assassination of Sandino , by then the liberal candidate for the upcoming election. With Sandino dead, rigged elections were held and Somoza was sworn in as president of Nicaragua in 1937. Well-educated in the US, where he attended a school run by the US marines, fluent in English and Americanized, Somoza was also well- connected in Nicaragua through the kind of network of family influence that has always been so significant in Central American political life. Perhaps his privileged lifestyle and reliance upon his family's influence were responsible for Somoza's exceptionally cynical character; in any case, it was clear he had little sympathy for the majority of his compatriots. Indeed he ruled in typical Latin American strongman fashion as a caudillo , or dictator, as he ruthlessly pursued the enrichment of himself, his family and his coterie of associates. He cultivated the National Guard as his own personal army and gave it power far beyond the usual sphere of a military force, until it virtually controlled the radio stations, the postal services and even the health system. For the Somoza family, at least, the 1940s were prosperous. Somoza supported the Allies, at least in name (intimates of Somoza during this time recall Somoza replacing his office portrait of Hitler with one of Churchill), but for most of the decade he busied himself with accumulating a personal fortune, buying up land, the national airline, even the national dairy. Somoza remained in power through continuously rigged elections and re-elections, or appointments of puppet governments. In 1955 the Nicaraguan Congress amended the constitution to allow Somoza to be re-elected again. But by then political opposition was growing. Somoza's end came unexpectedly, both for him and the country, brought about by the independent action of Rigoberto Lopez Perez , a 27-year-old poet, who shot the dictator dead in the streets of Leon in 1956. The National Guard responded by shooting Perez some fifty times. As it turned out, little changed, despite Perez's dramatic and passionate action. Somoza's son, Luis Somoza Debayle , also US-educated, took the position of interim president. At the same time his younger brother Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle assumed command of the National Guard. Following in their father's footsteps, they stayed in power through manipulation of the constitution and electoral process. A long period of repression followed, during which dissidents were regularly tortured and imprisoned. Opposition grew, however, and in the 1967 elections the Conservatives and Christian Social Party banded together to create the National Opposition Union (Union Nacional Opositora, or UNO). Nonetheless, vote rigging and harassment of voters ensured Somoza's election as president. Luis Somoza died of a heart attack soon after and power was left concentrated in the hands of Anastasio Somoza - now both president and head of the National Guard.
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